The present invention pertains generally to a system for bucking logs and pertains more particularly to a bucking system in which the optimal points at which to cut are determined automatically, with provision for the operator to override the cut locations chosen by the automatic system, and in which the cut-off segments are automatically singulated without a separate singulating step.
One of the first steps in processing timber after it has been stripped of branches is to buck it. The locations of the cuts should be chosen to maximize the profit that can be realized from the log. Since economics requires that logs be processed fairly quickly, it is easy for the human operator of a bucking station to make an error in determining the best locations for the cuts. Even a relatively small error can result in substantial wastage and a corresponding reduction of profit. Therefore, the locations of cuts should be determined by automatic means to the greatest extent possible.
Apparatus and methods for determining the size and shape of a log by automatic optical scanning means are known. One system for doing so is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,968, issued June 5, 1973, to Mason, for a "Method and Apparatus for Processing Logs," assigned to Sun Studs, Inc. Measurements made by means of such a system can be used to compute the optimum cut locations.
Logs of less than a certain diameter contain an approximately uniform concentration of knots and similar flaws. With relatively small diameter logs, therefore, it is possible to use a fully automatic scanning system for measuring the log, and to analyze the measurements by means of a computer to determine where to cut the log for maximum profit. In this manner, it is possible to eliminate human error in determining the optimum cut locations.
It is necessary to singulate the log segments output a bucking system, i.e., to separate them axially from one another. It is known, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,951, issued May 28, 1974, to Fullaway, for a "Log Handling Apparatus," to singulate the log segments by receiving them, as they are cut off, in a special holding station, from which the operator releases them at appropriate times. It is desirable, in the interest of speed and economy, to eliminate the necessity for a separate singulating step and for special singulating equipment.